Van Marwijk cuts another 6 from Australia’s World Cup squad

May 15, 2018

FILE - In this March 27, 2018, file photo, Australia's Tim Cahill plays during a friendly soccer match between Colombia and Australia in London. Tim Cahill has been included in Australia's provisional squad for this year's World Cup in Russia, boosting his prospects of being selected for a fourth World Cup. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland, File)

SYDNEY (AP) — Bert van Marwijk cut six players from his extended World Cup squad in a contentious call on the same day as Football Federation Australia and a major sponsor unveiled a marketing campaign with veteran Tim Cahill as the main feature.

Cahill has scored goals in all three of his previous trips to the World Cup and remains a leading contender for a spot in Australia’s final 23-man squad for Russia, but the timing of the announcement Tuesday sparked some criticism.

Among the players cut by Van Marwijk, who took on the Socceroos coaching job for the World Cup after Ange Postecoglou quit following the qualifying campaign, were 24-year-old striker Jamie Maclaren and defender Bailey Wright, who played in 12 of the 22 qualifying games.

“It is always a challenging task to reduce a squad,” van Marwijk, who had unveiled a 32-player squad last week, said in a statement. “Overall, I believe we have named a strong and ambitious squad for our training camp.”

The squad will go into camp in Turkey and play a friendly against Czech Republic on June 1 before being trimmed again to 23.

The FFA and Caltex, the naming-rights sponsor for the Australian men’s national team, launched the Cahilltex promotion later Tuesday. In it, five gas stations will be rebranded as Cahilltex during May and June.

The inclusion of the 38-year-old Cahill in the squad combined with the absence of Maclaren had some critics on social media implying that marketing opportunities could be influencing selections.